This invention relates to display systems for displaying electronic data, and more particularly to network-based web page display systems.
Communication technologies continue to provide more capabilities, increase in capacity, and expand throughout the world. An international in communication network known as the Internet is increasing in both numbers of users and capacity at nearly an exponential rate. The Internet is accessible by the general public in a large number of places around the world. Users of the Internet have a universe of network-accessible information.
Along with the Internet, there is growth of other private, government, and commercial networks reserved for authorized users. For instance, some commercial networks are reserved for authorized users such as employees, suppliers, or customers of a company. These other networks may share communication links used by the Internet or they may not.
Regardless of whether the network is the Internet or other networks, users are able to obtain network-accessible information by using web page display systems also known as network browsers. These web page display systems download web pages containing desired information from the Internet and various private networks. A web page is displayed through the use of the web page display systems on display screens of user terminals which include terminals, workstation monitors, television sets, and other display devices.
A web page provides many different formats of information including text, graphics, video, sound, and any other format of electronic data. One or more web pages are stored at web sites having web page servers that are connected to the network and allow access to the web pages by users of the particular network. The type of information at each particular web site varies from news, cultural, sports, commerce, governmental, corporate, investment, and other related topics. The private networks usually are more limited in the type of information provided compared to the Internet.
Each web page also may contain numerous hypertext links which link one web page to many other web pages of related information. As network technology has progressed, everything from web page-based e-mail services, groceries, bookstores, and brokers are competing for the attention of web page users. Web page users have voracious appetites for technology, information, and commerce. Skilled experts have been replaced by skilled masses capable of dealing with more web pages and a vast variety of scenarios and applications. The majority of users remain unable to exploit the opportunities and efficiency of the networks due to the simplicity and limitations of their web page browsers. These web page browsers are interfaces which display the web pages on display screens of the user terminals.
Thus, it can be appreciated that there is a significant need for a system and method that would enhance web browser capability and reduce the amount of time that a web page user requires to manage a web page browser.
The present invention resides in a display system for displaying web pages accessible on a network. The display system includes a computer system configured to send requests for web pages via the network to web page sites. The computer system also receives web pages via the network from web page sites. The display system further includes a display having display controls and a plurality of non-overlapping display areas having adjustable sizes. The plurality of non-overlapping display areas have a collective size equal to the sum of the non-overlapping display areas. Each non-overlapping display area has independent display area controls and is configured to independently display a web page received by the computer. A sizing control operable by a user is used to adjust the sizes of the display areas simultaneously with one control action while maintaining the collective size of the non-overlapping display areas. In one aspect of the invention, the computer system executes only one instance of a software program for sending the web page requests and receiving and displaying the requested web pages.
In one embodiment, the display system includes display controls that activate a group of the display areas to display a web page from a list of web page sites selected from a plurality of lists of web page sites. Each list of web page sites has a sequential order and has a number of web page sites not dependent on how many display areas are displayed. The computer stores the plurality of lists of web page sites.
In another embodiment, the sizing control includes a graphical object on the display and the one control action is movement of the graphical object by the user using an input device. The display controls include a designator control operable by a user to designate the number of non-overlapping display areas. In a further embodiment, the display controls include a drag and drop control configured to drag and drop a uniform reference locator from a first display area into a second display area. The second display area is configured to display a web page associated with a uniform reference locator.
Other features and advantages from the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.